River Day 01/21/2013

Really late post again this week (one week late actually), but we did indeed celebrate River Day this past week.  We had another full group at the river, plus one:  Ted, Jay, Tim, Pat, Kevin, Scott (yes Scott), and I (Mark) all made it down for a week of general noise making.  We had decent weather; around 40 degrees, overcast, and a little windy early on.  The river level had dropped from the previous week's flooding so there was an abundance of stuff to burn.  We of course took advantage of that.

Scott brought down a potato gun, a bag of potatoes, and various propellants.  We never got one all the way across the river, but after a shaky start we did have some long distance shots.

We also tried again to build a home-made rocket engine (or two).  We tried a different fuel so we wouldn't have to rely on mixing.  Only one of them actually got off the ground, but all of them resulted in a nice little bang.  I do think we're on the right path and need to do a little more experimenting, without all the other stuff going on.

Instead of tossing the aerosol cans into the trash for disposal, we properly recycled our spent (or mostly spent) cans the best way we know how:  in the fire.  I'm pretty sure they put those heat warnings on those cans for a reason.


Just a couple of photos for this week, but I also have a video that I'll add - once I figure out how to rotate the video to display correctly.  Kinda hard turning a 19" monitor every time you want to view it.

River Day 01/14/2013

Another full house at this week's River Day celebration: Jay, Tim, Ted, Pat, Kevin, and I (Mark).  The weather wasn't bad until later in the evening; temps in mid to low 40's, overcast/foggy, then rain toward the end of the evening.

Not a lot going on this week.  We spent most of the evening fairly close to the fire.  Freddy came down for his weekly visit and to join in the conversation.

While I didn't take many photo's this week, we did take a couple of interesting videos (hopefully, they'll post here).  All I can say about these (videos) is "kids, do not try this at home!"

Sorry for the late post this week.

River Day 01/07/2013

The first River Day of 2013 brought everyone out: Ted, Jay, Tim, Kevin, Pat (yes, even Pat), and I (Mark).  The weather wasn't especially nice (upper 30's, clear).  The timing just seemed to work out for everyone.  We all made it down a little earlier than usual, and we all left a little earlier than usual.

The river level was up a good bit this week; not as high as it usually gets in the winter/spring, but higher than it's been for several months.  No one tried to do any fishing, guess it's still a little early, or late, for that, but it won't be long now.  It didn't come up in conversation, but I'm not sure anyone's even bought their '13 licenses yet.

As is usual with the colder weather, most of the activity was centered around or near the fire.  With all the wood Jay has been bringing down, we certainly had a hot one.

Great to see the attendance level this week (yep, Freddy showed up for a visit too). 

Last River Day Celebration Of 2012 !

This was not only the last Monday of the 2012 year, but it was also the last day of

2012! We didn't expect or plan on making it tonight, we all figured that being New Year's Eve, everyone would have plans. Not so! Jay, Kevin and I (Tim) along with William were all able to make a last minute trip down to spend the last day of the year at the river. Mark had already made plans to go hunting for the day and was not able to make it and Ted had to work. We also got a quick visit from Freddy after we sent him an audio "Calling Card". As far as the weather, it was the same as it's been for several days, cloudy, misty, snow on the ground and temperatures in the upper 30's. Of course we had a nice fire, undoubtedly the best on the river! In typical Rivertarian fashion, we celebrated the year end with a "Bang"... You'll understand when you watch the video! It turned out to be a very enjoyable evening with good conversation and company, as always. Happy New Year to Rivertarians everywhere! Hope for the best to all in 2013! I look forward to seeing everyone next Monday...

River Day 12/17/2012

As you can see from the photos, the weather this week was nearly identical to the week before: rain, fog, temps in mid 50s.  So far it just hasn't felt much like December, never mind Christmas.

Jay wasn't able to make it down this week (Happy Birthday!) and instead picked up William at the airport in Charleston.  Ted, Kevin, Tim and I (Mark) all made it down for what is probably the last "regular" River Day celebration of the year.  It's hard to believe that 2012 is nearly gone.

Jay and Ted had delivered even more wood for the fire on Sunday this week, so there's a nice stack of stuff to burn that should last well into the cold months ahead, assuming the river doesn't take it.  It goes without saying that we had a great fire again this week, enough so that we were able to continue the discarded laptop recycling program.  Due to EPA regs, we probably shouldn't make that a habit.  From an artistic viewpoint though, the light show from those things is magnificent.

We did see a couple of the locals this week.  Leo spoke to us this week when the bus dropped him off; 1st time that's happened for a while (the speaking part, not the getting off the bus part).  And of course we had the weekly visit with Freddy.  It's always entertaining to listen to some of his stories.  Freddy had left us a little gift for the fire when we got down this week.  Amazing how much noise one aerosol can can make.  It was loud enough that he heard if from his house and used that as his cue to visit.  We'll let the smoke clear a little before we try that again.



Not a late night at the river, but a good one as always.

River Day 12/10/2012

River Day started out rainy this week, and when the rain slacked off, the fog moved in.  Temps were a little cooler than they were last week, but it was still unseasonably warm - mid to upper 50's.  Everyone was around this week to celebrate the holiday: Ted, Jay, Tim, Kevin and I (Mark).

It was a quiet evening and most of the activity was around the fire.  With the exception of Freddy, we didn't see any of the locals.  We've noticed for the last year or two that none of the residents had been putting up any Christmas lights like they used to.  Then we noticed that Leo had indeed decorated this year - not his house, but the utility pole with the electric service drop.  At least that way, extension cords aren't an issue.  Sorry for the poor quality of the photo (best I could do with a point-and-shoot), but I think it captures the spirit.

With the damp weather, the fire was certainly appreciated.  If I was to bet, I'd have to say we had the best one on the river.

River Day 12/03/2012

The first Monday of December felt more like late spring this week as the temps were in the upper 60's.  No jacket, short sleeve kinda weather.  Tim wasn't able to be with us this week, but Ted, Jay, Kevin, and I (Mark) all made it down to enjoy River Day.

Jay brought down even more wood for the pile in anticipation of the colder weather to come.  We're starting to get a pretty goodstack of wood going.  If the river cooperates and doesn't rise up and take it away, we'll be in good shape, for part of the winter anyway. 

I tried to do a little fishing this week, but it was a half-hearted attempt.  I really didn't expect much, so I didn't try for very long.  I'm pretty sure that I spent more time walking out to the rocks and back than I actually did fishing, but at least I gave it a shot.  There probably won't be too many more opportunities in 2012.

Not too much local activity this week, as usual.  Freddy visited and chatted for a while; I think he's on his way to becoming a regular.  The Raleigh Express made drop-off while we were there, or maybe more like a taxpayer funded beer run.  It may have even made two deliveries, unless it was a return trip.

All-in-all, a great way to spend a Monday evening as the year winds down.